Dear Albus,
I’m a student at Cap and I’d like your advice. My hall has set “quiet hours”, but students in my hall continue to be loud past these hours. I’ve
said something to them before, but it was for naught. It seems like they don’t bother to check the time. I’m kind of bugged that my RA hasn’t addressed this.
Sincerely,
Sleepyhead
Dear Sleepless in Seattle,
I feel your pain. There are a group of mice that enjoy late night rabble-rousing near my nest. It is most unfortunate. My suggestion would be to communicate your frustration with your RA. It’s entirely possible that he is unaware of the problem. Don’t sit and stew.
Incessantly loud creatures rarely care about the comfort of those around them. If your RA fails to address this issue appropriately, contact your RHC. And if nothing changes, request a new room in a different hall or building. Either that, or cover the walls of your dwelling with plenty of grass and miscellaneous litter. Seems to do the trick for me.
Wishing you a quiet life,
Albus
Dear Albus,
We would like to ask the wise squirrel for his opinion concerning the Empathy Experiment. Put very simply: what is its purpose? With all of the costs associated with the program and the literature that is already out there on the subject, is it really worth implementin? Thank you for your time, you busy squirrel.
Sincerely,
Concerned Members of the Capital Community
Dear Solicitous Segments of Society,
Perhaps it would be easier to say what the Empathy Experiment’s purpose is not, which is, finding out whether empathy can be taught. As you so intelligently pointed out, there are many, many studies that have been done and repeated that conclude that empathy can be taught. If this were the reason,
it would be a pointless experiment, much like me dropping an acorn and a ball of paper from a tree I frequent to test whether gravity exists.
Without any more clarification from university administration on the purpose of the experiment, we are now firmly in the realm of speculation. One could postulate, while nibbling on the acorn that I did not drop, that this could be an effort at increasing Capital’s retention rate. However, 1 of the 6 students participating in last year’s experiment has withdrawn from the university, not to mention retention in general had its highest drop last year. If this were the reason, the experiment was a failure and it should not have a sequel, so to speak. To increase retention, the university might consider updating accommodations for students and toughening or expanding the curriculum.
Certainly there was significant press attention devoted to the experiment last year. Perhaps this could be its purpose? If so, we are paying for that PR. However, we have not been told how much it has (and will) cost us. There are hundreds of students here at Capital participating in service learning opportunities that deserve attention and support, more so than a publicity stunt garnering thousands of dollars. It might be more effective (and cheaper) to show that empathy among students at Capital is not the exception, but the rule.
Your little rodent,
Albus
